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Friday, August 31, 2012

It's been a couple of days since I entered this blog but I'll try to get caught up here.

I took a couple of days getting to Eugene from Cascade Locks and traveled on the east side of the Cascades to get here. First I took the short side trip to see Timberline Lodge which sits at the base of Mt Hood. If anyone ever gets the opportunity to visit this place, don't pass it up. It was built during the Depression by workers in the WPA. Incredible hand work and attention to detail. I took an hour long tour and learned lots of interesting stuff.

That night I stayed in Sisters, Oregon in their little city park. Not a wilderness setting for sure but still, comfortable enough. Next day I took off for my last attempt to feed hikers and drove west over the windiest road I could find. I had spectacular views of Mt Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack and the Sisters. I drove through an immense lava field, about 20 miles of the stuff. Met a couple of thru hikers, one named Lunch Box and eventually made my way over to Eugene in early afternoon, hanging with Janice and her dogs in the studio. Monty and I had a nap.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I really don't know where I am. I mean, I know I'm in Washington, southern section. I'm in a rain forest area. There is an unsigned crossing of the PCT right to my right but what road I've found myself on is a puzzle to me. Note to self: don't rely on Washington state maps for side road knowledge. But since I was looking for the PCT I guess I'm successful!

Anyway I put out my new, bigger sign right at the spot where the trail crosses the road, pointing towards my truck. In no time flat I had two hikers eating my junk food and seemingly quite happy about it. Border Control and Creature Child. He tall, bearded and, you guessed it, thin as a rail while she was chatty, friendly and wearing a raccoon tail pinned to the seat of her pants. I didn't ask.

I then drove to Cascade Locks and got a room at the Bridge of the Gods Motel and RV Park. Long name, clean room, nothing fancy. Tomorrow I'm headed to Sisters.

Pictures of the bridge and Columbia River, plus the hikers I met today.

T and J, with the Vinnie boy dog, are coming to the cabin today as well as T's dad who I haven't seen since I did my big drive-around-the-country trip in 1984 and that's a long time. It'll be great to see him again.

I tidied up the cabin before I left this morning (to have breakfast at Whistlin Jacks restaurant) so they wouldn't have too much to do to prepare for their dads visit later today. I've been invited to stay over tonight and join them for dinner but we'll see how it goes. I'm getting that antsy feeling again. It might be time to hit the road.

I spent a few hours at Chinook Pass parking lot today. Within an hour I'd met Anish, who is section hiking Oregon and Washington, having just quit her high tech job in the PNW. As she said, "I needed a change in my life and wanted to look for another place to live." So, she's foot loose and fancy free.

Next came Happy Plate who, with her precise and dainty German eating style, apparently out ate all her hiking buds at Kennedy Meadows a few years back. A linguist, she is moving to Seattle in search of a job when her hike is over.

Next came a series of, what I call, skinny, bearded guys. Gaunt but moving fast, they were planning to hike 34 miles today. Geeze. Not too many hikers can pass up free food and a chance to hang out in a parking lot and the four of these hikers did just that. Sat on the curb, politely eating my snacks whenever I kept offering them. They were happy campers. Eventually they got out their own food to supplement my meager snacks and when I left there at three, they'd been in residence for two hours. After hanging out the guys were still planning a 30 mile day. Youth.

It was really fun to compare notes with them about all the usual trail stuff. I must admit though, I was pleased to be driving back to this cozy cabin tonight. It looks like it could rain.

As I hope they will appear to you we have Rock Stove, Bladder Pillow, Happy Plate, Anish and Medium Speed. Anish hikes in a dress. Wow.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sometime in the middle of the night I, in my usual sleepless way, remembered that when one makes an image in material to be printed you gotta produce the image backwards on the master. All that work I did yesterday was for naught because when I printed it out, the image was flipped the wrong way. Not that it has to be right reading but it'll bug me if it's not accurate. Well, hell. No wonder it takes forever to make art... one step forward, one step back. I did print out what I had finished and it looked pretty good, but still... I'll have to try again tomorrow as my eyes are bugging me with such close work.

J is a rock stacker. I'll have to ask her about it but it's clear she is pulled to finding and balancing rocks. Or stones. What's the difference? It doesn't matter but I think stones sound round and rocks sound jagged. In fact Angela and I gave J the nickname of Stone when we were last here. T also got a nickname that visit when she was wearing a white shirt while eating something with berries in it. She announced to the group she "was a stain waiting to happen". Hence the nickname Stain. You gotta watch yourself around this group.